Okay, so we had an idea over on the Story Blindness Thread. regarding whether or not charaters are able to read their own stories. Thus far evidence suggests that a kind of, as the topic says, mental blockade is in play keeping them from doing so (Don Quixote's pages came up as blank for example). The theory we came up with basically started with this.

WackyMeetsPractical wrote:

Scarab wrote:Maybe something external is actually affecting their minds, but it can only continue doing so for as long as they are in denial. I.e. for as long as they don't want to believe they're fictions, the external force is able to keep blocking them from reading their text. Like... hypnosis for example, which many people believe only works because the person being hypnotised deep down believes or wants it to work (and given that hypnosis is often used to cure addictions ot recover past lives and stuff, that makes sense psychologically).

Okay, I'm liking this theory. If it's true though, if any character has fully accepted their fictional nature, then they should be able to read their stories.I believe someone's mentioned testing to see if Holmes or Poirot can read their stories. I think Poirot would be the best choice. Poirot has definitely come to the realization that he is a fictional character, while I don't think Holmes has quite reached that point yet. Holmes understands that he is currently in a world that believes him to be fictional, but he still acts under the assumption that he is in fact real. While Poirot has out right admitted to being a fictional character. He's our best bet to proving or disproving this theory. And as he had just recently wrapped up a case, now is the best time to put it to the test.

Working on the above logic, the closer a character is to realising their true nature as fictional entities, the more the mental blockade should break down, and the more likely it is they'll be able to read their own stories. Poirot has a pretty good relationship with us, and is amongst the first of the characters to accept himself as fictional, so we figured it was time for a comment on his blog, asking him to check out his own books. He doesn't have to look very far ahead, one of his early books and oldest cases would be enough, so he doesn't have to go and relive anything he doesn't want to unneccesarily.

I'd appreciate suggestions as to how we should go about it, though. I'd say we should take the polite-but-direct approach and just ask him nicely if he would mind looking in one of his books for us.

They sometimes say, "the place where I am right now was circled on a map for me"... Unfortunately, I kind of suck at orienteering.

Pixelmage wrote:That seems like a safe approach. And will yield some much needed data. I say, go for it. No need to discuss methods, as all we can do is ask politely for them to have a look at the books.

Okay, well, it's done. This is the comment I posted.

Scarab wrote:Greetings. Congratulations on the solving of your most recent case. You may recognize me as another of the people who has been attempting to aid you. Alas, I’m not here for pleasantries. We were wondering if we might ask a favour of you. You see, we are gathering information on people like yourself who were dragged here from another world, and have begun to notice a pattern in their experiences with their ‘texts’ (that is, the stories in which they originated). You are aware now of your original nature, and are also aware no doubt that your origin lie in a series of books. I’m sure this was quite a shock to you, but you have adapted admirably, and our world is better for you. We were wondering if we could convince you to read one of these books. You don’t have to read the whole thing, just look through it, witness an adventure that you remember, and then return to tell us with whatever you discover. We would be extremely grateful if you could do this. The information you yield could prove invaluable. Your books are organized according to cases, so if there is anything that I’m sure you have no desire to re-experience, you can simply avoid that particular book. Or perhaps go as far back as to one of your earlier. Your books are available in almost every library and good bookstore. Or we could even track down a copy (I’m sure one of us owns them) and send it to you, if you prefer as we’re sure you’re very busy right now. Best regards from us all.

How's that lookin'?

They sometimes say, "the place where I am right now was circled on a map for me"... Unfortunately, I kind of suck at orienteering.